3D Laminates maybe a new name for some, but for those involved in the door panel sector, their CoolSkin technology has near revolutionised the performance of foiled door panels. These PVCu products can look similar on the outside, but it’s the technology inside that makes the real difference for lasting performance.
The door panel sector still remains a strong and fundamentally important segment of the glazing industry thanks to new colours, modern designs and better performing panels in the extremes of temperature. They also perform well enough to meet the needs of the very latest Building Regulations, requiring a U-value of 1.8 W/(m²K) in England and Wales or 1.6 W/(m²K) in Scotland.
CoolSkin technology is designed to deal with the extremes in climate for foiled PVCu door skins and in 3 years since its launch, there have been near zero defects as companies such as GAP, Nice Door Panels and Plasway can testify. Indeed the company now supplies over 80% of the laminated door skins to the sector, with second generation panels now offering considerably better performance levels.
This unique technology is based on the Cool Colors foil from Konrad Hornschuch which is exclusive to 3D Laminates in the UK and it’s been designed for applications right across Europe from the hot Mediterranean climates to the cold Scandinavian environments. The substrate base material is also heat reflective to add further performance benefits.
Laboratory Testing
Look at what appears to be two identical foil laminates in the first picture and at first glance there appears to be no discernable difference in typical daylight conditions. On the left is a standard window and door grade foil laminate of 230 microns and on the right a Cool Colors laminate of 300 microns.
Tests carried out using a radiation thermometer show how much surfaces can heat up on a typical door panel. A direct comparison shows that the surface temperature of Cool Colors laminate is lower than that of a standard window and door grade laminate after exposure to direct radiation as shown in the second picture.
The special camera demonstrates the optimised reflective properties of the Cool Colors product (lighter in the picture) in comparison to the standard product. There’s a remarkable difference in the surface temperature between the two samples in this second picture.
New Technology
The new generation of laminates represent a considerable technological leap forward. In the case of Cool Colors which is exclusively used by 3D Laminates, it reflects up to 80% of the NIR proportion of sunlight which reduces the heat build up by over 20%.
For the purposes of product performance, the measurement of heat build up in the NIR section of the spectrum is the best way to assess the way building materials deal with heat. The result of this development is significantly improved application properties for various climates and greater durability of the materials. In layman’s terms the Cool Colors foil provides significantly lower heat absorption.
A Colourful Future
New colours and woodgrain finishes are becoming increasingly offered by the systems companies, including the conservatory sector and this is cascading down through fabricators and installers to the consumer. There are now 26 colours available from 3D Laminates including Irish Oak which means there’s a foiled door panel to perfectly match the foil of a PVCu door profile.
Much like the IT industry promotes ‘Intel Inside’ as a measure of the functionality of a computer, CoolSkin technology is an assurance of the quality and lasting performance of a foiled door panel. The industry has a re-ignited itself thanks to the development of CoolSkin and now installers can offer the consumer an impressive entrance to their home, safe in the knowledge that the products will provide lasting performance.